"Date for continuation of Kosovo talks soon"

The Belgrade-Pristina negotiations will continue this month, while a date will be announced very soon, Belgrade negotiator Borislav Stefanovic told B92. Kosovo's regional representation will be on the agenda - one of the conditions set before Serbia by the EU in order to for the country to be granted the status of candidate for membership in the organization. "Date for continuation of Kosovo talks soon" Stefanovic says Belgrade had put forward "several suggestions, while the ball is now in Pristina's court". UN Security Council Resolution 1244 - which guarantees Serbia's sovereignty in Kosovo - makes up the basis of proposals for Pristina's regional representation. The negotiator noted that his team was "ready to go to Brussels immediately with several proposals", and noted that "Pristina's final decision also depends on the influence of the international community". "Our arguments are solid, irrefutable, and are not meeting with significant resistance of the international community. There is a subtle attempt at work to make relative this resolution and represent it as a bilateral issue between Serbia and the UN. That has not succeeded, but the ball is certainly in Pristina's court, which does not find itself in a comfortable place when it receives concrete, constructive and creative proposals from Belgrade," according to Stefanovic. In the meantime, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon submitted his regular report on Kosovo where he expressed his concern over the situation in the north, which, according to him, had a "destabilizing role". Stefanovic stated that this "does not mean that Serbs in the north are the problem, but the relationship between the north and the rest of Kosovo, which have conflicting concepts of functioning, and which need to be solved". Serbs in the north of Kosovo form a majority and reject the authority of the government in Pristina. "That's the definition of a continued low intensity conflict which represents a threat to the stability, and for that reason it is important for us as well to say that Ban Ki-moon confirms that there are no full freedoms in Kosovo, no full rights for all the citizens who live in the province, and that it has been located and confirmed that in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, there is a situation that can only be resolved by negotiations," said Stefanovic. The source of instability in Kosovo are Pristina'a attempts to establish their rule in the north, he added, and concluded that "the concept of Pristina" has the support of "a sizable part of the international community". Stefanovic is Belgrade's lead negotiator in the EU-sponsored Kosovo negotiations that started in March of last year. They represent the first direct talks between the Serbian government and the Kosovo Albanian authorities since the latter unilaterally declared independence four years ago - a proclamation that Serbia rejected. Borislav Stefanovic (file) B92

"Date for continuation of Kosovo talks soon"

Stefanović says Belgrade had put forward "several suggestions, while the ball is now in Priština's court".

UN Security Council Resolution 1244 - which guarantees Serbia's sovereignty in Kosovo - makes up the basis of proposals for Priština's regional representation.

The negotiator noted that his team was "ready to go to Brussels immediately with several proposals", and noted that "Priština's final decision also depends on the influence of the international community".

"Our arguments are solid, irrefutable, and are not meeting with significant resistance of the international community. There is a subtle attempt at work to make relative this resolution and represent it as a bilateral issue between Serbia and the UN. That has not succeeded, but the ball is certainly in Priština's court, which does not find itself in a comfortable place when it receives concrete, constructive and creative proposals from Belgrade," according to Stefanović.

In the meantime, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon submitted his regular report on Kosovo where he expressed his concern over the situation in the north, which, according to him, had a "destabilizing role".

Stefanović stated that this "does not mean that Serbs in the north are the problem, but the relationship between the north and the rest of Kosovo, which have conflicting concepts of functioning, and which need to be solved".

Serbs in the north of Kosovo form a majority and reject the authority of the government in Priština.

"That's the definition of a continued low intensity conflict which represents a threat to the stability, and for that reason it is important for us as well to say that Ban Ki-moon confirms that there are no full freedoms in Kosovo, no full rights for all the citizens who live in the province, and that it has been located and confirmed that in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, there is a situation that can only be resolved by negotiations," said Stefanović.

The source of instability in Kosovo are Priština'a attempts to establish their rule in the north, he added, and concluded that "the concept of Priština" has the support of "a sizable part of the international community".

Stefanović is Belgrade's lead negotiator in the EU-sponsored Kosovo negotiations that started in March of last year. They represent the first direct talks between the Serbian government and the Kosovo Albanian authorities since the latter unilaterally declared independence four years ago - a proclamation that Serbia rejected.